Simon Pegg is best known for his starring roles in the spoof films of the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy, but the actor has appeared in plenty of other great movies (and some not-so-great ones). Pegg first rose to prominence as the co-creator and star of the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced. He reunited with director Edgar Wright, co-star Nick Frost, and a handful of other cast from Spaced for the Cornetto movies that launched him to stardom: zombie-infested romcom Shaun of the Dead, “buddy cop” slasher Hot Fuzz, and body-snatching sci-fi adventure The World’s End.
Since the Cornetto movies made Pegg a recognizable star, he’s acted in such lucrative blockbuster franchises as Ice Age, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible. He’s acted alongside A-list stars like Tom Cruise, Chris Pine, and Thandiwe Newton and worked with such legendary directors as Steven Spielberg, John Landis, and J.J. Abrams. Some of Pegg’s non-Cornetto movies have been just as great as his genre satires, like Paul and The Adventures of Tintin, while others have been critical and commercial disappointments, like Absolutely Anything and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
29 Free Jimmy (2006)
Pegg played his first voice role in an animated movie in Free Jimmy, Norway’s first computer-animated film, based on writer-director Christopher Nielsen’s comic books. Free Jimmy’s 10% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes indicates that it was almost universally panned by critics. Not only did Pegg voice the character of Odd; he also wrote the script for the English-language dub. Free Jimmy squanders the potential of its adult-oriented darkly comedic animation with uninspired storytelling and mean-spirited humor. The film adaptation misses the wit and irony of its source material.
28 Kill Me Three Times (2014)
Pegg was cast against type as a hitman named Charlie Wolfe who gets embroiled in a revenge scheme in the thriller Kill Me Three Times. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t take advantage of the potential of casting an affable comedic actor as a cold-blooded killer. The script is too derivative of better thrillers to stand out.
27 Terminal (2018)
Terminal is an ensemble piece following the intertwining lives of a waitress, a teacher, a custodian, and a pair of assassins. Pegg gives a committed performance as a terminally ill teacher with a dark past, as does Margot Robbie in dual roles as twin sisters, and the movie has stylish visuals. But that’s not enough to salvage a convoluted, nonsensical plot.
26 Inheritance (2020)
There’s a fascinating thriller premise at the center of Inheritance. Lily Collins stars as a young woman who inherits a strange video from her late father in which he directs her to an underground bunker where he’s held a man prisoner for 30 years. Pegg plays the captive man, who identifies himself as Morgan Warner and turns out to be much more sinister than he seems. Sadly, this premise is let down by the film’s dull execution.
25 The Good Night (2007)
Martin Freeman, who frequently appears in Simon Pegg movies (including a memorable cameo in Hot Fuzz), stars in The Good Night as Gary Shaller, a former pop star who now writes commercial jingles to make ends meet. Pegg plays Paul, Gary’s former bandmate. Freeman and Pegg are surrounded by other great actors, including Penélope Cruz, Danny DeVito, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The Good Night is a solid effort that falls short of its ambitions. Its star-studded cast is squandered on an underdeveloped script.
24 America: The Motion Picture (2021)
There was a lot of potential in the concept of a hard-R animated movie fictionalizing George Washington’s fight against the British. America: The Motion Picture filled its voice cast with prolific comedic talent playing historical figures, including Channing Tatum as Washington, Jason Mantzoukas as Uncle Sam, Will Forte as Abraham Lincoln, and Pegg as King James. Unfortunately, it wastes its promising satirical premise and all-star cast on crass humor and ham-fisted gags.
23 Lost Transmissions (2019)
Pegg stars in Lost Transmissions as a record producer named Theo Ross, who is living with schizophrenia. However, problems soon arise when his friends discover that he has stopped taking his medication. They then soon find themselves traveling across Los Angeles as they try to track Theo down and it him to a psychiatric hospital to receive treatment. Lost Transmissions divided critics with a mental health storyline that tackles a delicate subject in an often indelicate way.
22 Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)
Pegg returned to the horror comedy subgenre to play Meredith Houseman in Slaughterhouse Rulez, the story of a monster-infested public school. While it promised to be another Shaun of the Dead, the movie unfortunately bombed with both critics and audiences. Slaughterhouse Rulez doesn’t strike the balance between horror and comedy anywhere near as well as Shaun of the Dead.
21 Absolutely Anything (2015)
Pegg plays Neil Clarke, a human being who is given the power to do anything he wants by a group of aliens conducting an experiment, in Absolutely Anything. With just a 20% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, Absolutely Anything squanders an intriguing sci-fi premise and a Monty Python reunion on a laugh-free script.
20 A Fantastic Fear Of Everything (2012)
A Fantastic Fear of Everything starts off with an interesting premise: Pegg plays a children’s author named Jack B. Nife, who becomes obsessed with murder as he transitions into true crime writing. But the movie fails to deliver on that premise. Pegg’s performance captures Jack’s unceasing paranoia perfectly, but the cinematography doesn’t match it with a claustrophobic atmosphere.
